Jacques de Molay

Jacques de Molay, (born 1243, Molay, France—died March 19, 1314, Paris), last grand master of the Knights Templar, an order of knighthood founded during the Crusades that had attained extensive power and wealth. He failed to exercise effective leadership at the time of the suppression of the order by King Philip IV the Fair of France and Pope Clement V.

Molay entered the order in 1265, fought in Syria, and after 1291 was at Cyprus. He was elected grand master of the Templars about 1298. Summoned to France (1306 or 1307) by Pope Clement V to discuss a new Crusade, Molay asked the pope to investigate certain spurious accusations of blasphemy and sodomy that had recently been made against his order. On October 13, 1307, all the Templars in France, including Molay, were arrested and interrogated by command of Philip IV, who was intent on crushing the order and seizing its wealth. On October 24, 1307, Molay, probably under torture, confessed that some of the charges brought against the order were true, but he rejected a charge of sodomy. He wrote to Templars throughout France, enjoining confession, but, when the pope sent his own delegates to conduct the inquiries, Molay and many of his subjects retracted their statements, saying they had been exacted by torture. In November 1309 and in March 1310, Molay appealed for a personal judgment by the pope. Clement decided to suppress the order (March 1312), and on March 18 or 19, 1314, a commission of three cardinals condemned Molay and other dignitaries of the order to perpetual imprisonment. On hearing this sentence, Molay again retracted his confession, and as a final punishment he was burned as a relapsed heretic by Philip IV’s officers the same afternoon.